The Mentalism Masters

Although Mentalism has its roots in the 1500′s, only in recent years has it gained worldwide popularity.

The famous pioneers of mentalism were great men like Uri Gellar, Richard Osterlind with newer blood like David Blaine and Criss Angel bringing mentalism magic into the mainstream.

Uri Gellar

Born Gyorgy Geller in 1946 is an Israeli-British perfomer and self-proclaimed psychic, although he prefers the term ‘mystifier’ than psychic.

His claim to fame came after his performance in a series of televised shows where he appeared to demonstrate psychokinesis, dowsing, and telepathy.

His routine included bending spoons, describing hidden drawings, and making watches stop or run faster. Geller said he performs these feats through willpower alone and the strength of his mind.

He claims his feats are the result of paranormal powers,and also claimed during the ’70s that his psychic abilities were bestowed upon him by extraterrestrials.

Richard Osterlind

Is an internationally famous mentalist who has created many magic tricks and mentalist routines extensively in use by other mentalists today. His “Mind Mysteries” video documentary is considered by many to be the pre-eminent instructional video for learning the art of mentalism.

Richard Osterlind has been performing for over 30 years for top corporations around the world, and also appeared in Monte Carlo, England, Bermuda and Beijing. He is one of the highest paid mentalists working today.

David Blaine

Is an American magician and endurance artist. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance, such as Buried Alive, Frozen in Time and Vertigo.

Blaine has also made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic. He has set and broken several world records. Blaine has perfected the new type of mentalism, a mix of mental magic and street magic which appeals to a more wider audience.

Although his mentalism feats seem impossible and amazing to the untrained eye, many people have discovered how his more famous tricks like his levitation and mind reading tricks are performed.

Criss Angel

Another Mentalist and stage performer is Criss Angel. Riding on David Blaines popularity and the world’s new fascination with mentalism and street magic, Angel’s big personality and fashion sense has garnered him more fans than his performances.

He is known for his big T.V specials and collaborations with Acrobatics group cirque Du Soleil. Angel is also known for debunking what he considers as fake acts.

Featured on one of his Mind-freak shows he showed how tarot card readers and fortune tellers do what they do by putting himself in their shoes and showing the audience that its just a matter of knowing what to say to the audience and twisting their words around a little bit.

The average teenager with an interest in these arts these days has a very good chance of making it as a great mentalist. With literature, tutorial videos and everything else you need available on the internet, it’s not impossible..

With more and more people getting interested in Mentalism and mental magic, and with so many resources available for budding mentalists, no doubt this is just the beginning for this new found branch of magic.